Skepticism from a Godless Conservative

Should There Be More Women in Science?

Maybe you’re not interested in the sciences as a profession.This post, just got me going. Sure, it appears from all statistics that there are more men than women involved in the sciences. But is this number due to sexism? Is it possible that women, at least a segment of women, aren’t interested in going into the hard sciences?
We all know people, men and women, that are in professions that we ourselves have no interest in, but then depend on those people when we require their services.
For instance, I’ve never had an interest in being a lawyer.I know however a lot of women lawyers. I also know 2 women that are doctors. I also know women that are biologists, geologists, geophysicists, physicists, anthropologists, archeologists, paleontologists…I can go on. These careers for these women were their choice. These were not careers they were forced into because someone decided that there needed to be more women in these particular fields.
I’m guessing this author disrespects women that are in other fields, like banking, investments, law, social services, teaching.
Why is it so important that there is equity, or near equity in the sciences? Are women purposely being shut out of careers in science? Are colleges and universities saying to women, “No, you’re a woman, you don’t have the intellectual capacity to perform science. You should be a grade school teacher.”?
Are men more sciencey or logical than women? I don’t have any statistics to throw at you but in my own long experience in the science and engineering fields the answer would be no.
Is it possible, just possible, that some segment of women don’t have an active interest in pursuing a career in the hard sciences? Does anyone know of any doors that are closed to women in actively working for undergraduate or graduate degrees in any of the sciences? If you do, please let me know.
This entire blogpost that I referenced (thanks Renee!) as was tweeted, is pure drivel. Again, it places women as victims of the old, white, patriarchy, which is not true.
Are men more interested in science and engineering than women? I actually don’t know and the statistics of men and women’s major’s entering university really doesn’t tell us anything. For example, I entered university as a “PolySci” major, because I really had no idea, at 18, what I wanted to do. I graduated with a degree in geophysics.
My experience with young people, and I have a lot of interactions with them, is that they have no idea what they want to pursue as to a career. Most find their own way. Some are harder than others.
Another quick example. I knew this young woman in college that was a “Finance” major. Holy crap! I almost never saw her because her workload was so heavy. Personally, I don’t think I could’ve accomplished what she did. No way.
There are many more issues we as a skeptical community need to address with men/women issues than who goes into what profession. Let’s not shame women for not becoming scientists and engineers.
Let me just leave you with this quote, because, as you know the author of the piece, more than not just copies and pastes from others and then just comments on what she’s pasted into her “blog”.

If we want to encourage diversity in the sciences we have to get rid of these old-white-man scientist stereotypes. The portrayal of the scientist as an older white man puts women and minorities at a disadvantage.

This is from someone I’ve never heard of and most likely you haven’t either, but her name is Jennifer Walsh. I think. I mean, this author has the problem of copying others work so much, it’s hard to keep up.